Ask Patty Featured in Cincinnati Post

FRESNO, Calif. - Caren Myers still surprises a few
people when they find out she's the general manager of the Lexus
dealership in Fresno, Calif.

They shouldn't be.
Myers has been in the automotive business 42 years, rising from
receptionist at a Ford store to owning her own Saturn dealership in
Southern California a few years ago.

"Yes, even in
this day and age, some people still think that the general manager is a
man," said Myers, who took over management of Fresno Lexus in October
2005.

While Myers still may raise a few eyebrows,
perceptions are changing in the automobile industry. An increasing
number of women in the United States are taking leadership roles in
dealerships or owning their own stores.

Industry analysts say it's a smart trend; women buy about half of all new cars and trucks sold in the United States.

Auto
makers and their dealers are paying attention - making sure that
everything from the look of the dealership to who's running it appeals
to women.

"Women
today have a much larger influence in the market than ever before,"
said Marcella Rojas, spokeswoman for the California Motor Car Dealers
Association in Sacramento. "And there are many good women auto dealers
that have broken through the glass ceiling and have earned the trust
and loyalty of their franchisers, employees and customers."

Nationwide,
about 7 percent of new-car dealerships are owned by women, and car
makers are pushing for bigger numbers with efforts such as General
Motors' Women's Retail Initiative, a program that recruits and trains
women to become car dealers.

Myers is somewhat of a
pioneer. She began her career answering phones, working her way up at a
time when opportunities for women in the car business were few. She
spent nearly two decades on the accounting side.

"I
didn't know I could sell cars until I was about 35 and someone told me
that I was wasting my talents. Everything changed after that."

Myers'
skills were honed through GM's women's retail initiative program in
2001, and she took over a Saturn dealership in San Juan Capistrano. She
owned and operated the store for about two years before selling it in
2004. She was later recruited by the Romero family of Southern
California to run its new Lexus store in Fresno, where she says nearly
half the buyers are women.

"I like to be very visible in the community and in our showroom, and I think that makes a difference," Myers said.

Automobile analysts agree that the female factor matters in the car business.

"What
we have found is that women relate better with customers, and there is
also the trust factor," said Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing.

"And
given that we have such a large percentage of women who are new-car
buyers, it makes sense to have more women on the sales floor and in the
organization. But you also have to create a career path for women."

At
General Motors, still the world's largest automaker, officials said
they are pleased with their progress in creating new opportunities for
female car dealers. Of GM's 7,000 dealerships, 3.7 percent are owned by
women, up from 2.6 percent in 2001 when the company launched its
women's retail initiative.

Joycyln Waters, director
of the initiative, said the training program attracts a wide variety of
women - those with business degrees to those with extensive experience
in the automotive industry.

"This has been a man's
world for a long time," Waters said, "and what we are trying to do is
change the environment so that we can make it more attractive to women
to become owners and operators."